35 Weeks Along & 35 Days To Go!

Today is a milestone for sure! I am 35 weeks along as of today, and I have 5 weeks, or 35 days, left until my due date.

Things are great. Andy and I are still putting together the nursery furniture, and we still have a long list of to-dos, but we're so excited for our baby girl so it's all worth it. I am feeling good and really just can't complain.

We still haven't picked a name (so many of you have been asking) but we promise to name her as soon as we see her. We just want to make sure it fits:) We won't bring her home as "Baby Girl Amato!"

At this point, a typical baby should measure over 18 inches long and should weigh 5 1/4 pounds (honeydew melon), but we know our little girl weighs more than that, since that's what she weighed almost 2 weeks ago! I would guess that she weighs just about 6 lbs.

Because she's so snug in my womb, she doesn't do somersaults anymore, but she is moving around and kicking like crazy. I can feel her movements all through the night, and all day at work. it's so hard to focus on anything but her! Her kidneys are fully developed and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — and she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight, and getting those chubby cheeks even chubbier:) They say she should gain about a half a pound per week!

All is well in baby land:)

Belly Picture!

This is a picture of me and my friend / coworker Regina, who is due on August 22, a month before me!! She is already home on maternity leave, gearing up for child birth. LUCKY GIRL!

Thought you'd all like to see a picture of our little girl!! This was taken on Thursday, August 6, at which time she weighed 5 lbs, 2 ounces. Look at how pudgy her face is!!!

I've angled the picture so she is upright. Her face is right in the middle of the picture. Her eyes are closed, and on the left side of the picture you can see that her right cheek is illuminated. I can't wait to kiss those pudgy cheeks!!!!!

This picture doesn't do justice what we got to see up on the screen during our ultrasound, but at least I can finally share a picture of her! :)

Baby Beats - We're Almost There

We had our final ultrasound on Thursday and found out that the placenta has finally moved enough out of the way that we can expect a normal delivery! We are very excited!!!

The best part is that we finally saw our baby girl's little, tiny pudgy face on the ultrasound screen! It's the first time she's moved her hands away so we can actually see her. We got a picture and I'll post it soon to the blog.

We went up to Maine right after the appointment to spend a nice few relaxing days with Denise and Stephen at their Old Orchard Beach condo. It was our last chance for a vacation before this all starts! It was a really nice time, but of course I left the ultrasound picture on their kitchen table, so it will be a couple of days before I can send it to you, since Denise had to put it in the mail to get it to me.

Anyway, all is well in pregnancy land. :) Just 44 days until our due date! :)

Almost Forgot!! The Tour of the Hospital...

We went on a tour of Brigham and Women's Hospital. That's where we'll be delivering. They have a really nice maternity ward, and they gave us a tour of the waiting area, delivery rooms, and post-partum rooms.

Some things that will be helpful for all of you to know if you plan to come to the hospital:

• No visitors are allowed until the baby is born. I will be in the delivery room before and during delivery, which is on a different floor than the post-partum rooms. No visitors are allowed and no exceptions are made (except Andy and my "support person" which is my mom).
• After the baby is born, we will be moved to a post-partum room where the baby and I will stay for at least 48 hours (96 hours if I have a c-section). Visiting hours are from 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm daily. Anyone is welcome to visit!
• If you come outside of visiting hours, or before the baby is born, you can wait in the waiting area on the first floor of the hospital.

The delivery rooms are all private (thank goodness). Andy will be able to stay overnight with me at the hospital. Most post-partum rooms are private, but I think some are shared. Luck of the draw I guess. The rooms have TVs and some even have DVD players. The rooms also have private bathrooms with showers in them. All in all, they are nice, clean, and comfortable.

The hospital entrance is located at 75 Francis Street in Boston, and there is a parking garage right across the street at 80 Francis Street where visitors can park. It costs money, but its pretty cheap.

Once we're home, family and friends are of course welcome to visit. I have learned through our recent Newborn Essentials class that if you visit us at home, its helpful if you bring me/us something to eat, or something I could easily heat up for later. Cooking for myself will be on the bottom of my priority list! Also, there's a good chance that I'll be low on food/drinks to offer guests since I'll be recovering from giving birth. You might want to bring yourself a drink and snack!

:) Lots of love!

Jill

33 Weeks!!

Hi everyone,

Today I hit 33 weeks on the pregnancy calendar! That means there are just 49 days until my due date. Our baby is just over four pounds and 17 inches from head to toe. A lot has happened since our last post:


Last week, on Friday morning, we had a regular doctor's visit. Everything seems pretty normal and baby is just the right size. The doctor thinks the baby might be breeched, but he said that it's too early for that to be a concern, since there is still so much time for her to move again.


We have our ultrasound on Thursday afternoon, where we'll be able to see the baby again - and where, more importantly, we'll find out if the placenta has moved out of the way enough for a normal delivery. If not, they'll actually schedule another ultrasound so we can keep monitoring it. They won't schedule a c-section just yet. If it has moved out of the way, we won't need anymore ultrasounds and we'll have a normal delivery. We're really excited to see the baby again and hopefully we'll come away with a good picture we can post! :)


Last weekend, Andy painted the baby's nursery. It looks BEAUTIFUL! It is called "TinkerBell" and the color is like a pale, lime green. We assembled the baby's crib and it's perfect! Now we're waiting for the changing table and chest to arrive so we can put those together, and then I'll feel like we are in good shape.

Last night, Andy and I went to a "Newborn Essentials" class with our friends, Timmy and Kristine, who happen to be due just a day after us. It was a GREAT class. It was 3 hours long, and we hung on every word that came out of the instructor's mouth. We learned so many essential things that we didn't know before, that will help us so much in the first few weeks and months.

Did you know that baby powder is no longer recommended? If inhaled, it could cause infections. And a lot of baby powders are now made with corn starch to prevent inhalation issues, but corn starch, when in dark, damp places, can grow yeast and cause a hell of a diaper rash. It does still work to get the smell out of my sneakers though:)

Our baby girl has been moving and kicking like CRAZY, more and more each day! She is so active and I love to feel her move! I only wish Andy could feel her as much as I get to. She's moving around right now! Most of the movement has been at the top and middle of my belly, so she pushes into my ribs a fair share of the day. She's just saying "hey momma, whatcha doing?" so I rub my belly and talk to her as much as I can. Andy talks to her too, and he's seen and felt the tidal waves more and more over these past few weeks. It's a beautiful thing.

We are very giddy soon-to-be parents and can't wait to meet our little baby girl!!! We'll update you again after the ultrasound.

Lots of love,

Jill and Andy